Are you looking for vestibular rehab Rochester? Maybe this is you. The room is spinning when you move, or maybe even when you are not moving. Your head feels like it is “swimming.” The world needs to catch up when you move your head. You need to hold on to walls, furniture, or other people. The floor feel uneven? You feel drained at the end of the day, if not by the end of the morning. You have difficulty concentrating, have trouble reading a book or screen. Feel embarrassed believing people may think you are drunk. You feel nauseous, even to the point of throwing up? I can go on.

Does any of this sound familiar? You may have a vestibular disorder.

Read on for 5 important things you should know when you have a vestibular disorder:

1. It’s not “all in your head.” Well it is… kind of. But not in the way you might think. You look normal from the outside; there is no x-ray that shows a problem. That makes it tempting for those around you including your family, co-workers, and even your medical professionals to conclude “it’s all in you head.” It’s even worse when YOU start thinking you must be crazy or lazy. Not true! The fact that your problem is invisible and hard to explain does not mean you made it up. You just haven’t found the right help yet.

2. Your dizziness medication may actually prevent you from getting better. What? That’s right, the medications commonly prescribed to people with dizziness slows down your nervous system and the learning that your brain needs to do to fix your problem. Long-term use is not without side effects either. There will be more on that in later blogs. I don’t suggest that you stop any medication without talking to your doctor – but this is food for thought.

3. You can feel (more) normal again! People in our clinic often ask or wonder: “am I ever going to feel normal again?” For a lot of people the answer is YES! The majority of those with balance and dizziness problems return to their normal activities (work, driving, working out, fun stuff) when properly diagnosed and treated effectively.

4. No it is not something only “old people” get. First off, being “old” people doesn’t apply to age anymore. We see people in their 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, who are in fantastic shape, are having way too much fun, are working and playing without worrying about the number of candles on their last b-day cake.

Dizziness does become more common as we age, but it does not discriminate against “younger” people. More than half the people we have helped with balance and dizziness are in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.

5. Be safe! There other possible causes for balance and dizziness problems: medication change, dehydration, heart and blood pressure issues, and other serious medical problems. When in doubt get medical attention in acute situations.

Get medical attention immediately if you have:

Chest pain, shortness of breath, severe head ache, slurred speech, sudden change in hearing, vision or ability to speak, weakness or numbness in part of your body, stiff neck (looking down?), high fever.

This blog is meant as a quick overview. I hope it was a helpful read for you. Maybe you have even more questions now than you had before. Feel free to contact us. I’m confident we can help you in the right direction.